Navonian Empire
The Navonian Empire was a country situated in the south-eastern area of Rodenia, bordering Granida and Sudetia. It was founded in 1801 out of the Navonian-Selessian Dual Monarchy after King Francis II stepped down. There were two episodes in the history of the empire, dubbed the First and the Second Navonian Empire. This transition as well as the transition from empire to the contemporary Republic of Navonia where induced by social agitation. The empire was ruled by direct descendants of Edward the Conquerer and had Murcia City as its capital. History The House of Massovia proved to be not only neutral but also weak figures. During their rule plundering and plotting where very common and hardly ever punished. The lack of unity drove the new upper classes, who made their fortune in trade rather than by inheriting it, to create a joint private army to conquer the throne. King Francis II didn't resist at all and simply stood down. The bourgeoisie appointed William of Murcia, the grandson of Edward the Conquerer as ruler of the newly erected Navonian Empire. In 1822, Emperor William I was succeeded by his nephew Edward II without any trouble. The emperors restored order by use of their standing Imperial Army. The next two emperors, Alexander I and Alexander II, ruled only for four years due to their old age. In 1844 Alexander III was responsible for the modernisation of the Navonian economy and the construction of railroads. He also agreed on the formation of an elected government and granted the people constitutional rights. This marked the beginning of the Second Navonian Empire. In 1866 Gregory I rose to the throne. He oppressed the growing dissatisfaction in the lower ranks of society. The common people protested because they didn't share in the newly created wealth. Gregory I responded by raising military and police spending and limiting press freedom. As protest became more harsh and violent, the government expressed its sorrows concerning the 'outdated methods' used by the emperor. The emperor simply fired the 'inflammatory secretaries' and assumed their tasks himself until further notice. The just fired secretary for social affairs, Mike Davidson, called the people to 'come out on the streets and show their emperor how many people need his kindness'. Gregory I saw this as treason and had Davidson executed. An uprising break out and the Imperial Government replaced the emperor by his uncle, Gregory II. The new emperor was much kinder and announced he would restore the liberties his predecessor had taken away. Pressure from the bourgeoisie had already transformed the autocratic regime significantly, but it were the demands of the commoners that called the empire into question. Ideas of general suffrage and social justice gained terrain pretty fast. By 1918 strikes for higher payment were organized nationwide and in August of that year a march on the Imperial Palace was held. Emperor Gregory II promised reforms to calm the masses. He erected the Navonian parliament and appointed representatives in preparation of a new constitution. The appointed parliament counted four factions: the liberal Reform Party, the left-wing Radical Party, the National Party and a conservative faction. Parliament was preparing the new constitution when Gregory II got assassinated on October 6 1920 by Gustav Franzen, an anarcho-liberal and Selessian nationalist. The exact motive of Franzen remained unclear, but the circumstances indicated that he wanted to avoid a stronger legitimacy of the emperor's rule in the Selessian provinces. Gregory II was the last emperor of Navonia; the country was turned into a republic. Symbols The flag of the Navonian Empire was based on the design of the original Kingdom's flag, the flag of the House of Deston: white with a blue horizontal stripe on the top and bottom. This was done to refer to the legitimacy of the emperor's rule. The colors symbolized the blue waters and white skies of Navonia. In addition to earlier flags, yellow completed the design as 'color of the people'. A mistake often made is to think that this includes commoners as in the flag of the Republic of Navonia, but during the imperial era it only represented the upper classes. Hence the link between yellow and the wealth (gold) of the bourgeoisie. The double-headed eagle in the center of the flag represented the bond of the emperors with Edward the Conquerer and the House of Murcia. The emperors did however drop the Murcian red to remove a direct link to their Selessian background. The standard comprises the flag carried on a shield by a golden double-headed eagle which also holds the Navonian crown jewels. Just as is the case with the contemporary Republic of Navonia, the motto and anthem of the empire are "Unity & Progress" and Song of Navonia. List of Emperors * 1801-1822: Emperor William I of Navonia * 1822-1840: Emperor Edward II of NavoniaThere never was an Emperor Edward I, but Edward II named himself 'the second' to honor his great-grandfather Edward the Conquerer who ruled the Murcian Commonwealth as 'grand protector'. * 1840-1841: Emperor Alexander I of Navonia * 1841-1844: Emperor Alexander II of Navonia * 1844-1866: Emperor Alexander III of Navonia * 1866-1881: Emperor Gregory I of Navonia * 1881-1920: Emperor Gregory II of NavoniaGregory II is not the son but the uncle of Gregory I. The latter was forced of the throne by Gregory II because of his harsh rule. References Category:History of Navonia Category:Historical country